Harvested cannabis plants were among bags of rubbish fly-tipped near to a North Warwickshire beautyspot.
The illegal plants were discovered in bins bags left dumped in Corley, along with compost and plant pots.
An eagle-eyed resident was walking back from the Horse and Jockey pub in the village in March last year, when he spotted a white van and two men dumping what appeared to be bags of compost.
As he approached and questioned them, they got in the vehicle and drove off at speed leaving all the bags behind. But the quick-thinking member of the public noted down the registration of the vehicle and then got in touch with the police.
North Warwickshire Borough Council's Environmental Health staff visited the scene the following day and discovered the harvested cannabis plants.
They were able to track down the owner of the van thanks to the registration number supplied and it led them to James Edwards in Coventry.
When interviewed under caution, Edwards insisted he was innocent and also later failed to appear at Nuneaton Magistrates Court for a hearing.
Steve Maxey, Assistant chief executive and solicitor at the borough council, said: "It takes a lot of resources for us to clear up and investigate this kind of environmental problem.
"In fact it costs our Council Tax payers around £60,000 a year. We would also like to thank the member of the public for his intervention, which enabled us and the police to track down the offender."
As the owner of the vehicle involved in the fly-tipping incident, Edwards was fined £2,807.63, which included £1,292.63 in legal, investigation and clear-up costs.
Anyone who would like to report fly-tipping in the North Warwickshire area should contact the borough council on 01827 715 341.
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 10:20 pm